This invention relates to a nozzle assembly and more particularly, to a nozzle assembly which selectively emits material through an aperture at a relatively uniform velocity.
Nozzles selectively emit various types of materials, such as and without limitation paint, thereby placing or depositing the selectively emitted material upon various objects and/or target locations in some desired pattern and/or concentration. Oftentimes it is highly desirable to place or deposit the emitted material on the targeted object and/or location in a substantially uniform concentration, thereby substantially preventing uneven material deposits which are unsightly and unaesthetic.
Moreover, it is also desirable to provide for the selective emission, by the nozzle, of a mixture of liquid and solid particles and/or a mixture of gas and solid particles in order to allow the nozzle to be used within a wide variety of applications requiring different types of materials.
While prior nozzle assemblies adequately and selectively emit material, they do not substantially ensure that the emitted material is uniformly placed upon the targeted object or location. Rather these prior nozzle assemblies typically emit a greater amount of the material through a center portion of the nozzle and lesser amounts around the nozzle end portions, thereby undesirably creating areas of relatively high material concentration upon the targeted object or location.
That is, the portion of the material which traverses the middle or center of the nozzle assembly has a greater velocity than those material portions which traverse the outer portions of nozzle assembly, thereby causing the material to have a non-uniform velocity profile as the material exits the outlet apertures of these nozzle assemblies (e.g. the velocity of the emitted material is not uniform at substantially every point or location within the outlet aperture). Hence, more material is deposited through the center portion of the respective outlet apertures of these prior nozzle assemblies than is deposited through the outer edge portions of the respective outlet apertures of these prior nozzle assemblies.
Moreover, while these prior nozzle assemblies allow for the selective emission of such liquid-solid and gaseous-solid mixtures, they must often and/or frequently be xe2x80x9cuncloggedxe2x80x9d or cleaned since the solid particles tend to form undesirable and flow-restricting deposits within these prior nozzle assemblies. These xe2x80x9ccleaningsxe2x80x9d reduce the overall efficiency and increase the cost of the material application process and further increase the non-uniformity of the velocity profile of the emitted material. Further, as new types of solid particles and/or materials are used by these prior nozzle assemblies, the respectively contained particle deposits become undesirably mixed with the new material, thereby undesirably contaminating the new material.
There is therefore a need for a new and improved nozzle assembly which allows for the selective emission of material having a substantially uniform velocity, which allows the selectively emitted material to be substantially and uniformly deposited upon a target object and/or location, which allows for the selective emission of material having a liquid and a solid component and/or material having a gaseous and a solid component, and which substantially prevents and/or reduces undesirable material deposits within the nozzle assembly.
It is a first object of the invention to provide a nozzle assembly which overcomes some or all of the previously delineated drawbacks of prior nozzle assemblies.
It is a second object of the invention to provide a nozzle assembly which overcomes some or all of the previously delineated drawbacks of prior nozzle assemblies and which allows material to be selectively emitted with a substantially uniform velocity profile.
It is a third object of the invention to provide a nozzle assembly which overcomes some or all of the previously delineated drawbacks of prior nozzle assemblies and which allows material to be selectively emitted and to be substantially and uniformly deposited upon a target object and/or location.
It is a fourth object of the invention to provide a nozzle assembly which overcomes some or all of the previously delineated drawbacks of prior nozzle assemblies and which allows mixtures of diverse types of material to be selectively emitted.
According to a first aspect of the present invention a nozzle assembly is provided. The nozzle assembly includes an outlet aperture having a first portion of a first cross sectional area and a second portion having a second cross sectional area, the second cross sectional area being smaller than the first cross sectional area.
According to a second aspect of the present invention a nozzle assembly is provided. The nozzle assembly is of the type which receives material and which emits the received material through an outlet aperture. The nozzle assembly includes a first narrow portion which receives the material and a second wider portion which communicates with the first portion and with the outlet aperture and which communicates the material to the outlet aperture.
According to a third aspect of the present invention a method is provided for use with a nozzle of the type having an outlet aperture. The nozzle is of the type which receives material and which selectively emits the received material through the outlet aperture. The method is effective to cause the material to be emitted at a substantially uniform pressure and includes the steps of causing a first portion of the outlet aperture to have a first cross sectional area and causing a second portion of the outlet aperture to have a second cross sectional area.
These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the invention will become apparent by reference to the following specification and by reference to the following drawings.